Eterna

~Chapter 20~ Repaying Our Debts

I turned to Payne, her figure only made more ominous by the eerie glow of the moon. She stood with Cupid readied in front of her. I flipped my blade by the hilt and stood, ready for her to make the first move, though I knew she would not.

"Payne, we don't have to-"

Before I could respond, she lunged at me with inhuman speed, swinging Cupid down inches from my face. I jumped back as the ground where I once stood cracked and crumbled. I squatted over the ground, one hand touching the soil below me and the other gripped my blade.

"You really mean to fight me."

She provided no response.

"Fine then. I won't hold back...not anymore."

I let the energy well up inside me, and dance about until it was visible to Payne. Her eyes flashed red and began to glow, matching the base of Cupid, who's decorative eyes glowed like rubies as well. I lunged at her, my thin blade crashing against Cupid's thick Demon Steel. She retracted and swung horizontally at me. I smiled, jumping into the air and using Cupid as a stepping stone, I doubled the height of my jump. I crashed down with blade extended, cutting into Payne's face before she jumped back to avoid further damage.

"Give up." I said.

"Never."

She slammed Cupid down on the soil, sending a force toward me that broke the very crest of the ground before me. It hit me with fervor and sent me flying back, racking my body with a solid, even pain. As I flew backward through the air, I saw Payne's red eyes flash. In an instant, she was behind me.

Flash stepping.

I wondered how much energy she was exerting as I skid along the ground. Before I could recover from the crash, she was already above me, slamming Cupid into the ground. I rolled out of the way and pushed myself up, swinging multiple times at her flesh. She had a sword with great power, but my strokes came in quantity. I could hear her grunt from the pain. She could dodge more than the average person, but she couldn't dodge them all.

I looked for an opening.

She blocked my vertical swing with Cupid and I retracted and lunged forward, taking her shoulder blade with my sword.

I pulled the blade out and kicked forward, my boot meeting her chest. I cried out and lunged forward at her open throat with a horizontal slice, stopping myself an inch from her flesh. She dropped cupid and fell to her knees. Her arms slightly erect on either side of her, as one ready to be crucified.

"Finish me."

"I cannot." I choked.

"I have no purpose if I cannot serve and protect you!"

"I will not kill you!"

I fell to my knees in front of her and swung my arms around her neck.

"I can't kill you Payne. You're like my sister. I can't kill my sister." I began to weep.

I remember feeling her arms swing around my waist. I don't know how long we knelt there like fools. All I know, is that I began to travel to the gate of The Underworld.

Alone.

Payne trudged back to the Capital in the morning. She sat in the hallway between the two suites and laid on the floor. Her chest poured blood and her body was scuffed and bruised. She now wore a scar that travelled diagonally along the bridge of her nose.

Sera was the first to open the door.

"Oh, my! Isaiah, come help me!" She called out.

Isaiah sprinted across the room.